Clothes-line support.



.E. E. SQUIRE. G-LOTHES LINE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8, 1910.

Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

LOLUMBiA PLANOGQAPH 1:0..WASH1N0T0N. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN E. SQUIRE, 0! BLACK DIAMOND, CALIFORNIA.

CLOTHES-LINE SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12,1911.

Application filed November 8, 1910. Serial No. 591,389.

, and has for one of its objects to improve the construction andincrease the efliciency and utility of devices of this character.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simply constructeddevice which may be applied without structural change to any requiredportion of a Window, but preferably to the outside sill of the same, andby means of which a clothes line 'may be stretched when in use and thetension removed or the strain relieved when not in use, so that alldanger of the breakage of the line in event of its becoming moistened byrain or from other causes may be avoided.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this characterwhich may be folded down out. of the way when not in use, or when theline is slacked With these and other objects in view th inventionconsists in certain novel features of construction as hereinafter shownand described and then specifically pointed out in the claim; and, inthe drawings illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the invention,Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved device arranged inoperative position and applied to the sill of an ordinary wood or framebuilding, the stool and window sill portions being in section; Fig. 2 isa front view enlarged, of the pulley portion of the standard; Fig. 3represents the holding link and base, detached and in perspective; Fig.4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the slight changes necessary toenable the device to be employed upon a window erected in a brick orstone structure.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

The improved device is designed to be employed in tenement houses andsimilar buildings where endless clothes lines are stretched between twobuildings or between opposite portions of the same building andoperative through a window and from the inside of a room.. Heretoforeserious objection has arisen when using devices of this character byreason of the tendency of the line to stretch during wet weather andfrequently to break under the strain, butin the improved device meansare provided for relievingthe line of its tension when not in use, andthus avoiding the danger of breakage of the line from this cause.

The improved device is preferably attached to the sill portion of awindow, or

. may be employed, if required, on one of the side members of the frame,but for the purpose of illustration is shown applied to the sill portionof a window. The improved device may be employed on sills of varioussizes and forms, and to sills employed in wood or frame buildings, orbuildings of brick or stone without change in the structure of theimproved device. In Fig. 1 the improved device is shown applied to theordinary sill of a window, indicated at 10, and is adapted whennot inuse to fold downinto the position shown in .dotted lines at 11.

' The improved device comprises a base 12, having screw apertures toenable it to be firmly secured to the .sill 10 outside of the outerstop, indicated at 13, so that the presence of the improved device doesnot interfere with the operation of the upper sash. The base 12 isprovided with an upwardly directed perforated ear 14 at one end and anupwardly directed standard 15 at the opposite end. The upwardly directedstandard 15 of the base is bent outwardly at its upper end, as shown at16, the object to be hereinafter explained. Mounted to swing upontheperforated ear 14 of the base is a line supporting arm, preferably inL-shape, with one leg shorter than the other, the shorter leg beingindicated at 17 and the longer leg at 18. The arm 17l8 is so arrangedand located that when in position the elbow portion 19 of the arm willbear against the base at the junctureof the body portion and thevertically directed standard 15, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, with thevertical portion 18 of the arm bearing against the adjacent face of thevertically directed standard 15. Slidably disposed upon the portion 18of the arm is a locking link 20 which is adapted to bear over theoutturned terminal 16 of the vertically directed standard 15 of thebase, and thus firmly lock the arm to the base. It will be noted thatthe link 20 when in operative position bears beneath the outturnedterminal 16, and thus locks the two parts together, while at the sametime the parts may be readily separated when required by manipulatingthe link 20. The outturned terminal 16 coaot ing wit-h the link thuseffectually prevents all danger of accidental separation of the parts.The opposite end of the endless line is generally attached to anordinary guide pulley which is connected to a terminal structure such asthe opposite building or an opposite port-ion of the same building, butas this portion of the device forms no part of the invention it is notdeemed necessary to illustrate the same.

The improved device is simple in construction, can be readily applied byany person without previous skill or knowledge, and when applied to thesill of a wooden building, the base 12 may be located near enough to theouter edge to enable the longer le of the arm to fold down outside ofthe sill, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and thus not onlyslacken up the clothes line, but likewise dispose of the arm out of theway, and in position to avoid being broken or accidentally displaced.

The base is provided with a plurality of I screw receiving apertures,and preferably two of the apertures will be located as near as possibleto the elbow portion 19 of the base, and when the improved device is ap-T plied to brick or frame buildings, a filler 5 block 21""is employedbeneath the outer end of the base and secured thereto by one or more ofthe holding screws. The block device forms an effectual means forsteadying the base and assisting in holding it in position, while therear screws only are depended upon to hold the base, but as the strainupon the arm is outwardly and away from its elbow, the holding screwswhich secure the base to the sill are suflicient to hold the device inposition.

The improved device may be constructed of any suitable material and ofany suitable size to accommodate clothes lines of various sizes, butwill preferably be made of metal.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new is:

A device of the class described, comprising a standard having arearwardly inclined upper portion, an arm with its lower portionextended at right angles and pivotally supported at the terminal of theright i angled portion, and a link slidable upon said arm and engagingover said standard and prevented from upward displacement by theinclined portion thereof when strain is applied to the arm.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature 1n presence of two wltnesses.

EDWIN E. SQUIRE.

Witnesses DAVID ISRAEL, J os. Mc-AvoY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe 'Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0.

